There are some strong opinions out there today about women’s shoes, and in particular high heels. Some women and men are calling for women to abandon high heels and throw them away altogether, along with their makeup in some cases. There are many good arguments behind the notion, but before you toss away the heels, allow us to make a case for keeping at least some of your heeled shoes.
Reason 1: Not All Heels Are Uncomfortable
The umbrella term “heels” or “high heels” is a bit misleading because most people jump straight to the crazy fashionista towering stiletto heels as the defining characteristic of the entire genre. This is wrong-headed. To abandon heels altogether is to throw the baby out with the bathwater. While there is no doubt that ultra high heels are both uncomfortable and even dangerous when worn too much, there are alternatives.
For instance, there are kitten heels galore when you explore the options on offer in heels. Kitten heels are more comfortable to wear and don’t compromise on style and quality. Many women in business, government and other positions of power seem to opt for a kitten heel because it’s both feminine but also projects strength and stability. Where stilettos can be viewed as somewhat frivolous, kitten heels have a greater sense of dignity and poise in many people’s eyes.
So, there are ways to enjoy the other benefits of heels (see below for more) without having to tower over the room in your sky-high shoes.
Reason 2: Heels Can Be a Confidence Booster
Even when offices change their dress code rules to say women don’t have to wear heels, and even when these companies start to encourage women — as do their friends and family — to wear flats or kitten heels instead of higher heels, why do so many women still opt to wear high heels? One big reason is confidence and poise in both their working and personal lives.
It’s no secret that women are shorter than men, on average. In Australia, the average woman is about 161.8cm (5ft 3 ½ in.) and men are 175.6cm (5ft 9 in.) In a workplace where men and women are competing, being tall can have advantages and so women can use heels to boost confidence and make a more powerful impression to their peers and their superiors.
You may argue that it shouldn’t be necessary for such things to be the case, but as they say, that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Being productive and successful and being confident go hand in hand.
Reason 3: You Can Wear Them Less
There’s no law or ruling that says if you choose to own high heels that you have to wear them a certain proportion of the time. There’s nothing wrong with buying and keeping high heels to wear on special occasions or when the situation warrants the additional height, confidence and even a boost to one’s leg profile. Disposing of your heels in protest means you’ll simply never have them. There are good reasons to wear heels less, especially if you were unaware of the potential damage that high heels could do to your feet and ankles.
Reason 4: They’re too Beautiful
Finally, you should keep your heels because you worked hard for the money to buy them and you were likely initially drawn to them for their exquisite beauty and elegance. So many heels are made with stunning and unique colour, interesting styles, patterns, different shapes and more. There are seemingly as many kinds of heels as there are women to wear them. If you only keep them for one reason, make it the fact that you can’t bear to dispose of such beautiful things.
